Top Employers in the 2024 GROHE-Hurun India Real Estate 100

The 2024 GROHE-Hurun India Real Estate 100 report highlights the leading employers in India's real estate sector, revealing that the listed companies collectively employ over 165,000 individuals. On average, these companies have a workforce of 4,894 employees. Notably, 19 of these companies have more than 1,000 employees, with Sobha and NCC at the forefront.

Leading Employers in GROHE-Hurun India Real Estate Top 100

Sobha ranks first, employing 26,275 people, and is headquartered in Bengaluru. Known for its excellence in the residential sector, Sobha sets the benchmark for large-scale employment in the industry.

In second place, NCC employs 20,615 individuals. Based in Hyderabad, NCC is recognized for its significant contributions to the residential sector.

Macrotech Developers, based in Mumbai, ranks third with 17,014 employees, followed closely by Brigade Enterprises from Bengaluru, employing 16,715 people in the commercial sector.

The hidden climate cost of AI: How tech giants are struggling to go green

As AI takes centre stage in Silicon Valley, an inconvenient truth is emerging behind the scenes: AI has a massive carbon footprint. Tech giants like Microsoft, Google and Amazon have made bold commitments to slash greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years, but the technology they’re betting their futures on is making those climate goals increasingly challenging to achieve.

Microsoft?revealed?that its carbon emissions had surged nearly 30% since 2020, mainly due to the construction and operation of energy-hungry data centres needed to power its AI ambitions. Google?reported?an even steeper 48% rise in emissions compared to 2019. These trends highlight the growing tension between rapid AI development and environmental sustainability in the tech sector.

The root of the problem lies in AI’s immense appetite for computing power and electricity. Training large language models like GPT-3 requires vast amounts of data to be processed by thousands of specialized chips running around the clock in sprawling data centres. Once deployed, AI models consume significant energy with each query or task.

“One query to ChatGPT uses approximately as much electricity as could light one light bulb for about 20 minutes,” explained Jesse Dodge, a researcher at the Allen Institute for AI, in?an interview?with?NPR. “So, you can imagine that millions of people using something like that every day adds up to a really large amount of electricity.”

Indeed, according to?Goldman Sachs analysts, a typical ChatGPT query requires nearly ten times as much electricity as a standard Google search. As AI capabilities expand and usage skyrockets, so too does its energy demand. Goldman Sachs estimates that data centres will consume 8% of global electricity by 2030, up from about 3% today—a massive jump primarily driven by AI.

The tech industry’s intense electricity consumption impacts regional power grids and even influences decisions around fossil fuel use. Data centre operators in Northern Virginia are expected to require enough electricity to power 6 million homes by 2030. In some areas, plans to decommission coal plants have been delayed to meet surging power needs.

This puts tech giants in a difficult position as they try to balance their AI ambitions with climate commitments. Microsoft has pledged to become carbon-negative by 2030, removing more carbon from the atmosphere than it emits. That goal now appears increasingly challenging. The latest sustainability report acknowledges that “as we further integrate AI into our products, reducing emissions may be challenging due to increasing energy demands.”

Google had long touted its carbon-neutral status, achieved through carbon offsets. But in 2023, it admitted it was no longer “maintaining operational carbon neutrality” due to emissions growth. The company still aims for net-zero emissions by 2030 but called that timeline “fraught with challenges.”

Other major players in AI development, like OpenAI, have yet to disclose any emissions data, leaving the full scope of the industry’s climate impact unclear. However, Microsoft and Google’s trends paint a concerning picture.

“We have an existential crisis right now. It’s called climate change, and AI is palpably making it worse,” warned Alex Hanna, director of research at the Distributed AI Research Institute, in an interview with?NPR.

To their credit, tech companies are not ignoring the problem. They’re investing heavily in renewable energy, exploring more efficient chip designs, and researching ways to reduce AI’s energy needs. Microsoft says it has expanded the use of low-power server states to cut energy use by up to 25% on some machines. Google is designing data centres that it claims will use zero water for cooling.

However, these efforts are being outpaced by the breakneck speed of AI development and deployment. Every major tech firm is racing to integrate AI across their product lines, from search engines to productivity software to social media. The potential economic and competitive advantages are simply too large to ignore.

India seeks duty concession on cars, commercial vehicles, machinery in FTA with Sri Lanka

India is seeking customs duty concession on a number of goods including cars, commercial vehicles and machinery from Sri Lanka under a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA), talks for which are underway, an official said.

India has also sought easier visa norms to further facilitate entry of professionals from here, the official said.

The 14th round of talks between senior officials of India and Sri Lanka was concluded recently in Colombo.

Issues which came up for the talks included rules of origin, goods, services, and technical barriers for trade.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka has sought removal of a quota on apparel exports to India. The island nation is also asking for duty concessions on tea and certain agricultural commodities.

The official said that as elections are announced in Sri Lanka, the next round of negotiations between the two countries will be held after that.

The two nations have already implemented a free trade agreement in goods and now they are negotiating to expand the pact by including more goods and services.

The India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA) came into force in March 2000. It enhanced economic relations between the two countries by reducing tariffs on a wide range of goods.

Since the original ISFTA focused solely on goods, both countries have been negotiating for several years to expand it into a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which would include services, investment, and other areas of economic cooperation.

Under the current FTA, India allowed limited imports of garments from Sri Lanka at a 50 per cent tariff (or customs duty) concession for up to 8 million pieces annually, with a requirement that 6 million of these pieces use Indian fabric.

Additionally, India offered a 50 per cent tariff concession on up to 15 million kg of tea from Sri Lanka each year.

Think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that Sri Lanka may be seeking removal of the quota on garments, especially considering that India has allowed duty-free imports of garments from Bangladesh under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) for Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

"However agreeing to this request may not be easy for India as allowing duty free imports has led to a significant increase in garment imports from Bangladesh, growing from USD 144.25 million in FY'2014 to USD 739.06 million in FY'2024, a cumulative growth of 412.34 per cent," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said.

Sri Lanka has placed items like automobiles and electrical goods on its negative list, restricting their import.

Since the implementation of the ISFTA, trade between the two countries has experienced fair growth.

India's exports to Sri Lanka increased from USD 499.3 million in FY'2000 to USD 4.17 billion in 2023-24, a cumulative growth of 735.2 per cent. Meanwhile, imports grew from USD 44.3 million to USD 1.4 billion over the same period.

India to Extend offshore oil & gas hunt to extended continental shelf

NEW DELHI: India is preparing to extend its offshore hunt for oil and gas to the extended continental shelf (ECS), with the government working on a plan to press state-run explorers ONGC and Oil India Ltd into service for conducting seismic survey beyond the beyond its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the east and west coast, people in the know said.

Seen in the backdrop of increased movement of Chinese 'research' vessels in the vicinity of Indian waters, the plan can be seen as step to mark territory since the survey will help bolster India's claim of ECS shelf boundary beyond the EEZ boundary in East and West coast.

According to UNCLOS III (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), the EEZ of coastal states can extend upto 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. Under the same law, the continental shelf can extend up to 350 nautical miles from the baseline.

The plan in the works envisages acquiring high-resolution 2D seismic data for 30,000 line-km in two years for processing and interpretation at a cost of roughly Rs 400 crore, to be paid for by the Centre.

Seen in the backdrop of increased movement of Chinese 'research' vessels in the vicinity of Indian waters, the plan can be seen as step to mark territory since the survey will help bolster India's claim of ECS shelf boundary beyond the EEZ boundary in East and West coast. According to UNCLOS III (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), the EEZ of coastal states can extend upto 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. Under the same law, the continental shelf can extend up to 350 nautical miles from the baseline. The plan in the works envisages acquiring high-resolution 2D seismic data for 30,000 line-km in two years for processing and interpretation at a cost of roughly Rs 400 crore, to be paid for by the Centre.

The move primarily aims at developing a better understanding of the presence and nature of sediments. The data is expected to help evaluate the potential for hydrocarbons and other minerals in the continental shelf area, leading to better energy security planning. At a larger level, it will boost development of a 'blue economy'. India has a coastline of 7,517 kms spanning the east and west coast. The west coast cradles India's mainstay oil and gas assets such as the Mumbai High and Bassein fields. The east coast has the famed KG basin where Reliance Industries Ltd-BP combine and ONGC have showpiece projects entailing a total estimated investment of $10 billion.

Monday Market Turmoil Latest Updates: Indian, global markets bleed as US recessionary fears dent sentiment

Indian benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex extended losses on August 5 after weak global cues and weak US jobs data fanned fears of a recession.

The broader market, mainly mid and small-cap indexes fell more than 2 percent each, which is more than the headline indexes.

Tokyo led a collapse across Asian and European equities Monday, after weak US jobs data fanned fears of a recession in the world's top economy and boosted bets on several Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

Is Japan ready for a ‘world with interest?’

A country that has known nothing but easy money for a generation will have to adapt

Japan is on the cusp of a brave new world — one where bank deposits yield 0.1% a year.

OK, that might not sound like a revolution. But in a country where an entire generation has grown up knowing nothing but yields near zero, and mortgage rates that seemed?to get cheaper by the year, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.’s move to raise what it pays savers is exceptional.

It followed the?shock rate hike?by the Bank of Japan, and considering that the megabank slashed its return on deposits to a mere 0.001％ in 2016, it’s easier to see why it matters. That shift is just one example of how Japan is stepping into a place many commentators have dubbed the “world with interest.” Anyone under the age of around 40 has no map to navigate this. If the BOJ can stick to its promise and continue to hike — and in view of its history of choosing the worst possible time to raise rates, that’s a big “if.”?Many things in the country are about to change.

The question remains: Is Japan really ready for it?

Initial reactions are concerning. In stark contrast to when the BOJ abandoned negative rates in March and markets shrugged, this time the yen tumbled and stocks?panicked?as many asked if the economy can handle higher rates. On the ground, things?feel?different, too, with friends and relatives with floating rate mortgages scrambling to establish when, how and if their repayments will increase.

SaaS star Postman sees 30-40% cut in valuation in secondary deal

Postman, the most valued Indian-origin Saas startup at $5.6 billion, has struck secondary deals at a 30-40% discount recently, said people aware of the matter. While secondary transactions are typically finalised at 10-15% discount to the last primary valuation, Postman's latest deals are at a steep discount to its valuation which more than doubled during the peak funding cycle of 2021, underscoring the steep decline in value for Saas firms on revenue multiples.

Angel and early investors have partially sold their stakes in the Bengaluru- and San Francisco-based firm in the latest rounds, people said. ET had reported that Saas unicorns that are raising funds, including secondaries, are seeing sharp correction in valuations, with some blended deals settled at lower valuations than previous rounds.

"Pretty much all the Saas firms were overvalued during the peak funding cycle. Postman has been the most valued post its $225 million funding, and now based on revenue projections, the valuations are getting readjusted. There have been smaller batches of secondaries and more may happen as well at this range of discount," a person aware of the matter said.

Postman didn't respond to an email query. Some of the startup's existing investors have bought the shares on offer, people said without elaborating. Nexus Venture Partners, Bond Capital, and Battery Ventures are among its existing investors Across company stages, Saas investments slowed last year, as per data from Venture Intelligence.

Late-stage Saas firms raised $1.53 billion from private equity and venture capital funds in 2022, which fell by more than a third to $421 million in 2023. For mid-stage Saas firms, investments more than halved to $920 million in 2023 from $2.1 billion in 2022 Started 10 years ago in Bengaluru, Postman is an application programming Interface (API) management platform for enterprises.

The tool allows interaction between apps and functionalities within apps. ET first reported in May about healthcare-focused Saas firm Innovaccer being in talks with US-based Kaiser Permanente for a $250 million deal, which will have a blended valuation of around $2.5 billion from its last valuation of $3.2 billion. In a secondary transaction, existing investors sell shares to new investors and the money doesn't go to company coffers.